Through Comfort and Love a New Beginning is Born
by cskttshipsailed
Summary: There is a horrible accident.  Josh is killed in Africa.  Castle goes and comforts Beckett leading to a pregnancy.  The problem?  Kate doesn't know if its Josh's or Rick's. Also family, hurt/comfort, drama, besides angst and romance.
1. Chapter 1

He knew how to touch her to drive her to the brink. Then to slowly kiss her and caress her with care to bring her back down, not completely before he drove back in sending her to the place she craved once they began. She cared for him too and desired to make him happy as well. Complying and freely doing what he liked. She had never been one to shy away from experimentation. If you could call it that with him. He wouldn't do it if she wasn't comfortable. But when the need for satisfaction weighed out the embarrassment factor she was willing to try almost anything. Tonight was one of those nights. He was leaving in the morning. Three months this time. Three months across the country, ocean and halfway across the planet. Tonight they were saying goodbye for a while. They took it slow. She put more effort, gave more of herself to him this night, more than almost any other time. He mirrored her, touching her softer, longer, kissing her with more depth and care. They slowly but surely built each other up to the sweet crescendo.

She smiled appreciatively at the man lying sweaty next to her. He knew all the things she needed when she needed it. He was sweet and giving and caring, always putting her needs ahead of his. Being there for her, even when he didn't quite understand what she was going through. He never asked more of her than she was willing to give.

She fell asleep in his arms. He fell asleep holding her, hoping he wouldn't have to leave her for this long again. All the progress they, he, had made always seemed to almost disappear when he was gone for this long. He hoped that letters would be enough to keep them strong, not having to regain all the trust and care they had gained already. He fell asleep hoping and praying that she didn't pull away from him again.

In the morning they got ready and she drove him to the airport. At his terminal he pulled her in to kiss her. He kissed her soundly, almost too intimate for the public place they were. He pulled back, with her still enveloped in his arms, and rested his forehead on hers. She smiled softly into his look of longing and loneliness already. "It will be alright." She said reassuring him.

"I love you, Kate." He said pulling back leaving her hands in his.

Her eyes widened at his utterance. She wasn't ready to repeat that. Not here. Not with him. She tried to keep her composure as the panic seeped into her veins as she tried to think of a response.

"Goodbye, Josh. Have a safe flight." She said kissing his cheek and backing up, letting him walk away.

She watched as his plane took off. She turned and headed back to the exit of the airport. She thought about what he had said and how she responded to him. She had known for a while. The way he looked at her, the way he touched her, how he was patient with her, it all spoke to something greater than care.

She knew she cared for him not only as a person but as a man, a man who was in love with her. A man, she sighed, who she was not in love with. A man who was a distraction a substitute for who she was really in love with. She pushed the thought aside, not willing it to bring up fresh emotions of pain that he might not love her back. No for now she would be with someone who she knew loved her.

She exited the airport and took a taxi to the precinct. Wanting to keep her head clear, and noting that all she had to do was paper work, she called Castle and told him she didn't need his help that day and for him to work on meeting his deadline.

She sighed as she ended the call, turning to her desk and attacking the files on her desk. She looked up and sighed again noting the lack of coffee on her desk. No Castle, No Coffee. She rose and headed to the break room for a cup.

"Josh leave this morning?" Esposito asked as he poured the coffee into his mug.

"Yeah, I took him to the airport." She replied taking the pot graciously from him.

"Does he really have to leave you like this so much?" He said turning to face her.

"It's his last trip over seas. He put in a notice with the hospital that he has to stay in state at least for now." She said taking a sip and reveling in the instant warmth to her body from the heat and caffeine of the liquid in her cup.

"Well he better make it up to you or I'm gonna hurt his ass." He said protectively. Kate was like a sister to him. He still hadn't decided if he like motorcycle boy yet. There was something off about him it seemed to Esposito. Either that or he saw how she wasn't completely happy with him. Not like she was when she was with Castle. He had always thought that they would be together by now, but obviously they couldn't see it or were too stubborn to admit their feelings for one another.

"Javi, it's ok Josh would never do anything to hurt me." She said trying to calm him down a little. She knew he was very protective of her. He knew everything that she had gone through and had seen her in the precinct in her early days as a cop. He knew every struggle she had had in the past be it with a case or the fact of her mother's murder and her father's drunkenness.

"Ok, just remember I only want what's best for you. By the way where's Castle?" he asked.

"Oh I just have paper work to do I told him he didn't need to come down and help. So he is home writing." She said.

"Oh ok well me and Ryan have a small case that we are finishing up on so I'm gonna go hit it with my boy ok?" He asked.

"Ok, yeah. I know Montgomery will like another closed case for the 12th." She said smiling at him.

"Ok, See you later, Beckett." With that he was gone, leaving to pick up Ryan to pursue their lead.

Later that night Beckett let herself into her empty apartment. She wandered over to her answering machine. One new message. She hit the button, listening to the message.

Josh's voice echoed through her living room.

"Hey, Kate. I'm here at the village. I just wanted to let you know I got here safe and my flight was fine. There are a lot of people here that are sick. I hope I can help them all. Well, my time on a phone is limited so I have to go. I love you. Bye."

She was glad he had made it there safe. Now for the next three months… she thought to herself. She opened the fridge and smiled. He had stocked her fridge for her with food. He knows me so well she thought. Normally she would have ordered take out, but tonight she wanted something light. She pulled out some lettuce and some tomato, carrots, cucumber and some parmesan cheese. She made herself a nice sized salad and topped it with ranch dressing and croutons. She sat on the bar stool to her counter and sipped her wine, willing her body to relax. The tension not quite easing from her shoulder she decided to do what relaxed her most. She grabbed Naked Heat off of her book shelf and headed to her bath room.

After a luxurious bubble bath soaking and reading she pulled on her soft cotton night gown and settled in the covers. Sleeping alone lately had become a rarity. With her relaxed state though, she had no problem falling asleep.

The next morning she decided to skip the news and actually make herself a balanced and nutritious breakfast instead of her morning bear claw. They had a case today and she needed all the energy she could muster. She called Castle after she was finished and told him the address and to meet her there.

Castle stood there staring at the tv. On the screen before him was the breaking news of a gang outbreak in Africa. The outbreak had happened in the village Josh was supposed to be serving. He gasped as they showed the video of the huts burning after they had been set on fire. He watched in horror as a masked assailant led a man out into the open and shot him multiple times. His limp body falling to the ground. Tears streaked Castles face as he realized who that man was. They flowed even harder at the thought of a certain woman and what that man had meant to her. How she would have to deal with yet another murder of someone she cared about. He practically choked when his phone rang and it was her.

Not knowing if she knew yet or not, he answered cautiously, trying to keep his composure and not give anything away if she didn't know. She told him they had a case and the address and to meet her there. He hung up knowing that she had no knowledge of Josh's murder.

Later at the precinct, after they had swept the crime scene, Castle found Esposito in the break room.

She watched as Castle and Esposito had a conversation in the break room. She had already noted how different in demeanor Castle was today. He had been completely calm when he had arrived at the crime scene. No sign of witty, annoying 9 year old anywhere. He didn't even crack a joke as Dr. Parish gave them the stats on the victim. Esposito too had seemed on edge today too, making sure that he and Ryan didn't do anything to upset her. It was starting to make her worry that something was wrong and she was the only one who didn't know what's going on.

"She doesn't know does she?" Castle asked Esposito.

"No man, how are we going to tell her?" Esposito said looking out at Kate at her desk.

"I don't know I am not a cop I haven't had to inform anyone that their loved one was murdered." Rick said chewing on his thumb in anxiety. Ryan came up behind him and looked out at Beckett too.

"Why does it have to happen to her again? Hasn't she gone through enough with her mom?" He sighed. It was a sympathetic sigh for his boss. The woman he cared deeply for as a sister, the woman who he wished didn't go through so much pain.

Esposito saw her get up and start to head to the break room to join them or see what was going on. "I will tell her. If that's ok with you two?" He said looking at Kevin and Rick. The both nodded.

"Hey, guys what's going on? Anyone want to tell me why we are all hanging out in the break room?" Kat said putting a hand on her hip. He tone and stance made Javier cringe inside for what he was about to do to her. She noticed the look of pain and sympathy on Javi's face. Immediately she knew she was right earlier. Something was wrong.

"I need to tell you something Kate. Come with me." Javier said as he gently took her forearm and lead her into an empty conference room.

She followed him blindly trying to think of what could be wrong. Her father, Oh Goodness no! Please! She started to panic.

"Javi, what is it?! Is it my dad? Is he ok?" she said grabbing his arm tightly.

Esposito merely shook his head. She was confused now. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her to sit down telling he to take a deep breath.

In the break room Castle and Ryan saw Esposito sit Beckett down to tell her. They watched as he held her hands and told her that Josh had been killed. She ripped her hands away from him and said "What! NO I have a message from him! From last night…." She said covering her mouth with her hand.

Castle couldn't bear to watch as she was cast to the wolves again in her life, leaving her fend for herself in the harsh gnashing world.

Ryan watched as sobs wracked the body of the strong woman that he looked up to. Pain hit him in the gut with a force as if someone had physically punched him in the stomach. He hated seeing Kate like this, fragile, broken, vulnerable.

She broke down and fell into Esposito's arms. She just held herself there letting someone hold her. She didn't care if anyone saw. She knew people around her knew she was strong. This didn't feel like a weakness to her, she had just lost another person that she cared about. I mean even the strongest were allowed to cry every once in a while. Now was her time. She cried for him, she cried for herself and most of all she cried for all the people that he left behind, hurting from not having him. She cried for not appreciating him as much as she should have.

When she had stopped crying Javier pulled back to wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. "You need to go home for a few days. I don't want to see you here until next Monday ok? Ryan and I just wrapped up our case. We will take lead on your case. If we need any information we can call you or come by." He said hugging her one last time before he released her and pushed her out of the room and to her desk.

He watched as she dazedly grabbed her things from her chair and walked numbly to the elevator.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok so soooo sorry for the screw up I had to edit chapter 1 and inadvertently deleted chapter 2 because I thought it was the second chapter I needed to edit whereas it was the first soooo now the first is edited and the second chapter is now up sorry for all the confusion.**

"Man I'm glad Espo did that. I don't think I would have been able to hold it together." Ryan said taking a sip of his coffee.

"I just wish it had happened to someone else." Castle said quietly, still raw from seeing the woman he loved and admired, break before his eyes. As soon as Ryan and Esposito were situated he would go check on her. He knew she needed space but he couldn't let her go through another death alone.

Esposito entered the room again looking sullen and disheveled. "Come on Ryan we have to take lead on Beckett's case. She is taking a few days off."

"Right. Let's get to it." Ryan said following Esposito to the murder board.

Montgomery was on the phone in his office when he saw the three men exit the break room. He finished his conversation and poked his head out of the doorway.

"Where is Beckett?" He asked the men.

They all looked at each other waiting for one of them to speak. "She went home Sir. She told me to tell you she will be off till Monday." Esposito said to the Captain.

"Alright, good. Castle?" Montgomery said shifting his attention to the distraught looking man.

"Yes Sir?" Castle said.

"I want you to go and check on our girl a little later. You hear?" Montgomery said his fatherly tone showing through.

"Yes Sir." Castle stated.

Castle sat on the corner of her desk and looked at what she had assembled onto the murder board before Espo had told her about Josh. He helped the boys find commonalities and they ran down financials on several potential suspects. They watched him fidget and check his phone constantly.

"Castle, go check on her." Ryan said knowing it was killing Castle waiting this long.

"OK." He said jumping up and walking quickly to the elevator.

Kate lay on her couch hugging herself in her warm blanket. She has sunk down there the instant she had gotten to her apartment. She had turned on the tv to watch a movie when the news came on flashing the video of the attack on the village. With horror she watched as the village was burned and her boyfriend was gunned down right before her eyes. Tears slid silently down her face. She had always had a bad feeling when he had gone out of the country. She always felt like, maybe she wasn't good enough for him to stay here and just work in the country. She just stared at the screen watching it over and over again. She barely registered the noise an hour later when there was a knock on her door.

The sound caused her to pull out of her dazed state. She looked at the clock noting how in just a few minutes it seemed like an hour had gone buy. There was another knock on the door this one more insistent almost on the verge of desperation. She rose slowly from the couch, letting the blanket fall from her arms as she stretched. She was still in her work clothes she realized. No wonder she was uncomfortable. She made her way to the door and opened it to a very worried looking Castle.

"Hey.." He said sympathetically. He noted the dazed and unfocused look in her eyes, and the slight remnants of the pink that her eyes had gone from the crying. He noticed the tear that slid down her cheek when she had opened the door.

"Hey Castle.." She said quietly not bothering to swipe the tear away. She didn't care. He had seen her in other vulnerable states, like when she had to shoot the man who murdered her mother.

"How you doing?" He asked placing a soft hand on her limp forearm.

She looked up at him, at the sympathy and pain, locked eyes with him and saw the dimness of his sad blue eyes. He was hurting too, for her and the pain she was suffering. With that she lost it again and started to cry. She used his grip on her arm to her advantage, she pulled her arm into her chest causing him to move forward and take her in his arms. He held her while she cried, murmuring soft reassurances that it would be alright soon.

They stood in each other's arms like that for the next 10 minutes. He let her get it all out and use him as her shoulder to cry on. She had calmed down and had just rested her head on his chest under his chin. He had rested his chin on the top of her head, savoring the feeling of her warm body in his arms. When she pulled away he let her, understanding she might need some space after all this emotional turmoil.

"I'm going to go change into something more comfortable and I will be out in a minute. Will you stay?" She asked. A rawness and need was in her voice that he had never heard before.

"Of course. I will just sit on the couch." He smiled at her, reassuring her that he would stay as long as she needed him.

She padded toward her bedroom to change, closing the doors behind her. He moved over into her living room to sit on the couch when he noticed the tv on. Playing out in front of him again was the attack on the village. He got up and quickly turned off the tv. No wonder she had been so dazed when he got here, she had been watching it over and over again! He looked through her movies and picked a classic comedy, hoping to lighten the mood at least a tad for her. He sat down on the couch pulling the blanket off the couch in case she wanted to use it again.

She exited her bedroom in a loose t-shirt and tight fitting yoga pants. She had finally started to relax when Castle had arrived and even further when she was actually in something comfortable. She walked over to Castle, he had sat on the opposite side of the couch than she had been laying on. She sat down next to him and pulled her feet up under her and laid her head on his chest facing the tv. She had noted that he had turned on a movie instead of the news.

"Why were you watching that?" He asked her quietly. Almost whispering into her hair as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

She rested her hand next to her face on his chest. It felt right to finally have someone to be there to hold you when you went through a tragedy. She scooted closer leaning almost her entire body on him. He was her rock, her fortress for when bad things happened.

"I just wanted to see if they had any more info.." she whispered.

"Well, no more of that, you don't need to see any more." He said wrapping his arms around her protectively. She breathed him in. She felt slightly guilty. She had never let Josh hold her like this, her independence and strong stubborn will had gotten in the way. That's how she knew she truly loved Castle. He was the only person she had let in her walls.

"Ok."

She closed her eyes and let her mind drift. She relaxed the tension, stress and guilt she was feeling. Letting it all leave her, as if Castle had turned on the vacuum hose and sucked it right out of her. Her breathing slowly evened from its shaky shallowness, turning into deep inhales and exhales. He watched as the tension eased from her body as he held her, how she snuggled deeper into his arms.

He heard her breathing even as she fell asleep. She made a slight whimper as she fell into the confines of sleep. He smiled, grateful for the fact that he could relax her and comfort her, he closed his eyes and rested, not fully going to sleep in case she woke up or had a bad dream.

Two hours later, she woke up still in his arms. She smiled as she heard his quiet snores as he napped above her. She turned her head up slightly so as not to wake him and looked at his innocent sleeping face. She smiled and laid her head back on his chest, feeling the even rise and fall. She just laid there in his arms looking up at him. Just looking wasn't enough after a few minutes. She reached her hand up and ran it along his masculine jawline. She ran her thumb over the creases around his mouth, from so much laughing and smiling he did. She smiled at the man that, for the most part, was always filled with mirth.

She brushed her thumb now over his lips. As a natural reaction, his lips parted and her thumb slid in slightly, accidently. It touched the warm wet skin on the inside of his bottom lip causing her to shiver from the heat of his mouth. She imagined that heat upon her own mouth or other parts of her anatomy. She shivered again more noticeably this time than before.

He stirred above her. He opened his eyes to see that she was looking up at him, lovingly? He didn't know how to gauge that look in the current situation she was in with Josh's death. He noted the flush on her cheeks and the slightly embarrassed light in her eyes, and saw her hand on his jaw so close to his mouth.

She smiled at his sleep roused face. Overwhelming gratitude for him and for his presence with her swept through her being. Without even thinking she rose and kissed him lightly on his jaw. He woke up fully at that.

"Thank you." She said quietly after pulling away from kissing him.

"Always." He said rubbing her arm.

"Castle?" she said hesitantly.

"Kate, what is it?" He said looking at her, trying to decipher if something was wrong.

"I..I…I love you." She practically whispered.

He took her chin in his hand and gently tipped her face to his and lightly lowered his lips onto hers. He kissed her sweetly, savoring the sensations that her lips brought to his. It wasn't a passionate kiss but it wasn't chaste either. He cradled her face as she deepened the kiss slightly, tugging on his hair lightly to bring him closer to her.

He broke the kiss, both of their breathing raged and shallow from the air deprivation. He looked deep into her eyes as if he was reading her soul. She opened herself up like his books, allowing him to read all the emotions she was feeling. He smiled at her, spanning his hand from her neck to her jaw. He brushed her cheek lightly with his thumb. A single tear fell from his eyes, his emotion shone through to her. Before he even uttered the words, his eyes conveyed what he was about to express to her.

"I love you too." He said sincerely to her.

She smiled at him and lunged at his lips, kissing him passionately. This time when those words were uttered to her she rejoiced, not a sense of fear in her body at all. She rejoiced in the utter feeling of joy and love. He kissed her back with an urgency that forced him to grab at her hips and bring her fully into his lap giving him easier access to plunder her mouth. He nipped and soothed causing her to moan into his mouth. With the break of contact, he seized the creamy soft skin of her neck, kissing her hot and openly. She moved her hair and turned her head, giving him further access to her neck.

His hands rubbed up her sides to the swell of her breasts. She gasped at the sudden soft pressure on her chest as he cupped her perfect bosom. As he rubbed his thumbs over her nipples, she moaned appreciatively, she felt the heat from her chest that he was inflicting shoot down as he started to suck on the dominant pulse point in her neck. It burned causing moisture to pool between her legs. He moved back up to her lips forcing his tongue to battle with hers for the upper hand. He eventually won rubbing small circles on the roof of her mouth before pressing his tongue to hers causing her to see stars behind her eyelids. The way he was kissing her should be illegal. All demanding, and lustful while being loving and patient at the same time.

She put her leg over his lap effectively straddling him as he furthered the assault on her lips. She gripped the collar of his shirt in her hands pulling him closer still. Taking advantage of the new position Rick slid his hands under her shirt on her back, sliding his warm palms on her heated smooth flesh. She sighed at the tingling sensations that were erupting from his touch on the sensitive skin of her back. With a quick flick he undid the hooks of her bra. He slowly pushed the fabric off her chest and over her head throwing it off into the distance from the couch.

She rested her hands on his lower abdomen after he had taken her shirt off, he had gone back to kissing and sucking on her neck, nipping and soothing again. He slowly kissed and sucked on the newly exposed skin, causing her to hum her appreciation when he kissed her breast lightly. He reached up again and caressed each breast in his hands noting how they fit perfectly in his palms. He kneaded the muscle, rubbing gently on the most sensitive part. Eliciting the most delicious sounds from her he had ever heard. She threw her head back and lost herself in the overwhelming waves of sensation.

When he stopped suddenly, she drew her head back to look at him, a wild look in her eyes from the lust he had evoked upon her. With purpose she started to unbutton his shirt, growing impatient at the task at hand, she looked up into his eyes with her question. He answered with a roll of his hips, implying to her that he was impatient as well with the swell that met her warm center. This caused her to grasp his shirt and rip the fabric apart, scattering the remaining buttons on his shirt over the floor.

She immediately rested her palms on his chest feeling the warmth of his skin and the slightly more than normal defined lines of his chest and abdomen. She ran her hands up and over his shoulders, pushing his shirt off as she ran her hands down his muscular arms. Once she had rid him of his shirt he sneaked his fingers into the elastic band of her yoga pants, slightly tugging so that her hip bone was exposed, as well as the slight dip in her pelvis from her legs meeting her hips. He leaned down between them and kissed that region of her lower body, pulling the skin in his mouth and biting lightly, leaving a small mark on her skin. She gasped as she felt the twinge when he bit her skin but sighed as he soothed it with his soft lips and tongue.

He smiled into her skin as she arched her back, letting him know it was time to stop fooling around and to shed the remaining clothing. He pulled her pants down further, catching her modest bikini panties on the way. She rose from his lap helping him to remove the last remaining clothing from her body. He dropped her pants on the floor and took in the sight before him. She just stood there, waiting to sit back down until he had had his view. He put his hand on her right buttock and pulled her stomach closer to his face, she complied slowly easing her way towards him. He rested his face on her firm stomach and kissed her belly button, letting his tongue dip into the tiny little crevice, prompting a tiny giggle and cringe of her body.

He grabbed her wrist lightly and pulled her back down, into his lap. She immediately went for the button of his pants, the light brush of her hand on his front sent further waves of desire flowing through his body. She lowered the zipper painstakingly slow, looking up at him with a licentious look in her eye. His hips moved again, reiterating his impatience for what lied ahead. She laughed lightly at the needy look in his eye and finally lowered his pants pulling them off his legs. The only barrier between them now was his soft silk boxers.

She peered into his eyes as she peeled the last remnants of clothing from his body, releasing the formation of his arousal. She kept her eyes locked on his, not looking down, until he looked down between them and back up causing her to raise her eyebrow at him.

"Kate…" hesitation laced his voice as he asked her almost silently if this is what she really wanted, willing to be a gentleman and not push her any further.

"Shhh, Castle… Rick…" she said resting her palm on his cheek, she pulled him in for another deep passionate kiss. While they kissed she inched further on his lap completely straddling him with only a few inches separating their soon to be joined bodies.

She pulled back from the kiss and smiled lightly at him, asking him to go there with her. To do this together, like they did everything else. Asking him to finish what she had started. She started to lower herself on his lap and he met her with his upward motion. Completing and filling the space between them. She gripped his shoulder tightly at the upsurge of feelings, emotions and sensations that flowed through him and into her.

They lay there on the couch holding each other as their bodies calmed and relaxed. He was lightly stroking the still warm skin on her arm. She had shifted so that she was tucked into his side against the back of the couch with her leg over and wrapped around his thigh. She had rested her hand and head on his chest, she listened to his heart slowdown from the pulsing beat it had taken on. She closed her eyes, trying to savor the bliss she felt at this moment. She pushed the guilty feelings of how she never had felt this way with Josh out of her mind and just snuggled further into him. He smiled as he felt her try to impossibly snuggle closer to his body. He reached above them and grabbed the blanket he had tossed onto the top of the couch. He covered them with the blanket and closed his eyes, willing sleep to take him away from the day that had been so painful and yet rewarding all in one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

**Authors Note: Thanks to my good friend writerfly! She helped me and has helped me with all my writing! You are amazing!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

It was still dark out when he woke up. There was an onslaught of cherry when he breathed in. He felt her cuddle closer to him. He reached up and opened the curtains slightly allowing light from the city around them inch in over them. He looked down and lifted the blanket. He cursed himself as he saw their naked bodies almost welded together. He looked down at the woman sleeping next to him. He saw her peaceful and calm expression as she slept on her cheek and hand on his rising chest.

He brought his hand up and covered his eyes and wiped his hand down his face. "Damn it Richard…"

He looked down at Kate again a tear rolled down his cheek. He brought his hand up to his mouth and kissed it. He rested his hand on her cheek and rubbed his thumb over her lips.

"I'm so sorry Kate….I love you." He said as he slowly extracted himself from her embrace. He softly laid her down on the couch where he had been formerly laying. He pulled the blanket up around her to keep her warm now that she was devoid of him. He dressed remorsefully. As he dressed he watched her snuggle into the couch. A few more tears streamed down his face. He had done the one thing he said he would never do. He had just taken advantage of the woman he loved, the woman he had sworn to treasure and never hurt. He was ashamed, he hated himself. With one more glace back he left the apartment.

He took a cab to her favorite coffee shop and got her a latte. He returned to the apartment and silently let himself in, he had borrowed her key when he had left earlier. He went over and set the latte on her coffee table, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek again and whispered. "I'm so sorry please forgive me." With a tender brush of her hair he left.

He took a cab home. The entire ride he thought about all the things that had happened. How quickly his boundaries had seemed to disappear. He scoffed as he thought back to his justification in the moment. 'Beckett needs comfort and I am here for whatever she needs.' He had thought just that last night when she had kissed him.

He let himself into the loft and immediately headed towards his bedroom. With it only being 4 am he crawled into his bed to try to get a few more hours of sleep. He tossed and turned for about an hour until he fell into a fitful sleep. He dreamed about her. He dreamed about them waking up together and her yelling at him, slapping him, turning him away for using her in her weak state. He woke up with a start as she screamed at him in the nightmare that she hated him and never wanted to see him again.

He swallowed hard, a burst of dry pain burned down his esophagus. He realized that her scream hadn't woken him up it was his scream. In the nightmare he had screamed out to her begging her not to leave. He threw off the covers, now acutely aware of his sweating heaving body and the tears that had long since stained his perplexed face. He threw his legs over the edge of his bed and sat there with his face in his hands. He didn't know how he was going to make this right. 'She is going to hate me tomorrow…' he thought.

He looked over at the clock. 7 am. He sighed, he knew he wouldn't get anymore sleep. Not with the fear of that nightmare reoccurring. He got up and took a long hot shower, he tried to relax his muscles and ease some of the guilt that was figuratively constricting his breathing.

The soft rays of sunshine peered through her gaping curtains. The warmth coated her skin causing her to rise and stretch basking in the warm light. It wasn't until she realized where she was, her lack of clothing and the absence of a similarly naked man that she had woken up alone. Richard Castle was gone. She frowned at the coffee table noticing the coffee cup sitting there waiting for her to awake.

She picked the cup up and took a drink. The coffee inside was now ice cold. She set the cup down and looked at it. It must have been hours since he had left. She folded her hands in her lap and tugged the blanket back around her. She just sat there staring at nothing for a little while. She was trying to decide how she felt. She had woken up, before she knew he was gone, happy, and even thought it was so soon she didn't feel ashamed to be somewhat comforted by what had happened the night before. It had made her feel alive, not dead like Josh. She had reveled in the ability to still be able to feel those sensations. Now, now she felt alone and remembered the reason that the comfort was needed.

She rose from the couch dropping the blanket and picked up the cup. She headed towards the kitchen; she stopped at the trash can and went to throw away the cup. As she was lowering it, writing on the cup caught her attention. She read the one word that caused her heart to pull in her chest. "Sorry.." The pull on her heart turned into a grasp and tightened quickly as she felt the tears well up in her eyes.

He was sorry, he regretted it, he wished he hadn't done it… All the pain that she had always feared, the pain of him using her and leaving her, exploded into her body and she sank to the floor. She cried again barring her soul to the emptiness around her.

She rose devoid of all her sorrow now. Now she was just plain pissed. He was not going to do this to her. At least not without a proper explanation. She showered and got dressed and headed for the precinct. She knew she was supposed to be taking a day off but she didn't care. She needed something to distract her. She grew angrier as she remembered that he would most likely be there too.. Good she thought let's get this over with.

She stalked into the precinct entering the elevator, taking her up to her floor. She exited the elevator and went to her desk. She sat down and turned to see what the boys had done since she was gone. She peered at the murder board with its various suspects and descriptions, the timeline and the rest of the info. Esposito was coming out of the break room with his coffee when he saw Beckett.

"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be home!" He said setting his coffee cup down so he could cross his arms, showing his disdain for her presence at the station so soon.

"Have you seen Castle today?" She asked ignoring his utterance.

"Yeah, he left a half an hour ago. He went to follow up on a lead with Ryan. They should be back soon though." Esposito said sipping his coffee. He wasn't too thrilled with her. She had returned after only a half a day. Just then the elevator opened and Castle's laugh met her ears. He had been laughing at whatever Ryan had said while they were in the elevator. The laughter and joyful expression dropped off his face when he saw her talking to Espo. It was replaced by a polite smile, then he averted his eyes, not willing to let himself make eye contact and expose how guilty he felt.

"That lead was a bust. They alibied out. He was at home with his family watching a movie, the wife confirmed it." Ryan said looking into his little notepad.

Castle just stood there, normally he would have just came in and sat down at his chair next to her, but today he didn't know if he could be that close to her. He knew images of last night would flood into his brain and it would be even more awkward than it already was. He fidgeted by the murder board examining where they should look next. Esposito noticed and wondered why there was a sudden uncomfortable air to Castle and Beckett. He wondered if they had had a fight or if Kate had shut Castle out again. He would ask Castle later.

Montgomery was walking into the bull pen when he noticed a certain female detective and her male sidekick. He immediately sighed, he knew this would be hard, Kate had always been a stubborn one. That's what made her such a good cop, she put her work ahead of her personal agenda.

He walked up to them. "How are we doing so far?"

"Well that lead that Castle and I followed up on was a bust so we have to go back and look at more of the evidence and hope we find something to lead us to another suspect." Esposito said to the Captain.

"Alright let me know when you have something. Detective Beckett, Castle could you join me in my office please?" Montgomery said to Beckett and Castle.

Once they were in his office he turned to look at them. He leaned onto his desk and folded his arms.

"Can I ask why you two are here? Castle you are fine I don't mind if you help Esposito and Ryan. But Kate, you need a few days off. You just lost someone you care about, its natural to take time to grieve. I want you to go home and just relax. The boys can handle it."

"With all due respect Sir, I am fine. I may have lost someone close to me but that doesn't alter my objectivity. I would like to stay and help with this case." She said firmly.

"Then you leave me no choice. I order you to go home. I don't want to see you in this precinct till at least Monday. You hear me?"

Kate looked down, she hated when he did this. She had no choice in the matter, she would be going home. "Yes Sir." She said as she turned and left the office.

As soon as they had left the Captain's office she snatched his wrist and dragged him to the break room and closed the door.

"Where the hell were you this morning? You just left!" She yelled at him. She was furious and she was going to get some answers.

"I … I went home. I'm sorry…" He said bowing his head. She heard the quiver in his voice. It sounded as if he was going to cry. The anger bled out of her quickly replaced by confusion. This was not how she had imagined it. She had thought that he didn't care that he left, that she was just another check mark off his list, but as she took in the look of guilt and embarrassment that was fixed to his body.

"Why did you leave?" She whispered now.

"I was ashamed. I took advantage of you… I… I didn't stop us. I hurt you." He said looking up at her.

She heard what he said and immediately rage flooded her system again. She was a grown woman she could take care of herself. She could have stopped them if she had damn well wanted to. She loved him she wanted to be with him why couldn't he see that?

"You did not take advantage of me! I wanted it! I want you!" She yelled. She stomped over to him and crushed her lips onto his, possessively placing her hands on his hips jerking him into her body. She forced her tongue into his mouth and grazed the back of his teeth before biting on his tongue slightly. He involuntarily moaned into her mouth and she smiled. She released his tongue and moved on to nipping at his lip. She ran her tongue over his lip and with drew her tongue completely finishing the kiss closed mouthed.

She pulled away and looked deeply into his eyes. Her eyes were like a wild fire, her stubbornness for what she wanted shining violently. His were water after something had been thrown in rippling in the sensation from the foreign object. His stilled and he moved out of her grasp.

"No. We are not going to argue here. If you want to talk about this come to my apartment later. Right now I need to think." That was all he said before he walked out of the break room he went towards the elevator and decided quickly to take the stairs instead.

She stood there breathing heavily. She rubbed her forehead as a headache from the changing mood swings of the last 24 hrs. She sighed and headed to the elevator. She was already exhausted and it was only 10 am. She went home reluctantly, Montgomery had escorted her to the exit of the station and made sure she got in a cab and left.

Now she was in her apartment in her lounge clothes again. She looked at the couch; no way was she going to sit on that right now. She looked at the clock 1 pm. She couldn't take it any longer; she had to talk to him. He needed to explain.

She took a cab to his building and rode the elevator up to his loft. She stood there just looking at the door. She had been here before, just never under personal pretenses. It had always had to do with the case. She raised her hand to knock. She hesitated before she let her knuckles rap on the wood of his door.

She stood there and waited for him to answer. Nothing. She knocked again. She waited. The door opened as she was just about to knock a final time.

"Hi." He said, he smiled but it did not fully fill his face. He was not looking forward to this.

"Hi. Can we talk now?" She said inching further to the doorway, hoping he would let her in.

"Yeah. Now is good Mother and Alexis are out." He said letting her walk in past him and into the living room. She sat down on the couch and waited for him to join her.

"So…." He started. The truth was he didn't know where to start, he had apologized and it had made her even more mad.

"So, you regret last night." It was a statement. There was no question in her tone.

"No.." He said cautiously, he still had come up with nothing to express to her how he felt.

"So you don't regret it? Good. Because I don't. I wanted it, you didn't take advantage of me. I would have stopped you, don't you know that about me by now?" She questioned him.

"Yes I know, it's just… Josh is gone and only for 24 hrs… I didn't want to be putting you in a vulnerable state where you got hurt even more… I want you too Kate." He said taking her hand in his.

"Good." She smiled and tried to pull him in for a kiss. He stopped her and pulled back again.

"But, I don't think we should do this for right now. I don't think we should be in a relationship till you are completely over Josh. I don't want a rebound status. I want the real thing. For this to be real," he motioned between them, "I need to know that you are completely invested in us and not seeking comfort from His death." He said.

"It's not rebound! I love you!" She yelled rising up from the couch, yanking her hand from him.

He rose and took her hand in his. He rested his hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes, aflame again. "I love you too. That's why I am willing to wait. Let's just wait at least a month and then we can talk about it again. I can't tell you how much I love you. Please for me." He said earnestly to her.

She saw the love shining dominantly in his eyes. She calmed down and realized that he wasn't saying no. He was saying yes just not until it will be real, just them. She smiled and hugged him, agreeing to give it time, to let herself grieve Josh. To make herself ready to be Castle's and Castle's alone.

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><p><strong>Review please. :D<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

They had gone back to sitting on the couch after the hug; Castle had put in a movie. They were finishing the movie when Alexis got home. She had immediately run to Kate, giving her a hug and giving Kate her sympathy over Josh's death. Kate thanked her and tried to dismiss herself to leave. It was 5 pm now and she thought she would leave, letting Rick have time with his daughter. Alexis had stopped her though and asked her and her father if it was ok if Kate stayed for dinner. Castle had agreed and insisted, Kate couldn't say no.

Over pizza they talked about Alexis applying for College and what she wanted to do. They laughed and had a good time. Kate had looked at the two people around her and smiled. When it was time, this would be an amazing place to be, she had thought to herself. She had gone home relaxed and happy for the first time in a while. She fell asleep easily when she got back to her apartment and had crawled into bed.

The next week they worked on an especially intriguing case, someone had bludgeoned a man in a McDondald's bathroom. It was an open and shut case; the killer had left physical evidence all over the place. The man who killed him was suffering a psychotic break and the man he bludgeoned was taking too long to wash his hands and he had gotten impatient and hit him in the head with a toilet plunger. Castle had gone back to his old self cracking cheesy jokes about bodies and body parts being found in the food of fast food places. The air had gone back to being light and comical between them. Underlying though was the love that each of them could read in the actions of the other. These little actions were a constant reminder of what they both wanted.

Kate was slowly getting over Josh; there were little things that still reminded her of him but each day the obvious pain of losing him seemed to heal. She had decided to go to a therapist to help things along. She hadn't told anyone about that though. Her therapist had commended her for accepting Castle's offer of waiting and not diving into a relationship when she clearly wasn't ready. He helped her to see that what she was doing in moving on from Josh was accepting the fact that the life he did live had been good and that she in the very end had made it better. He helped her to see that even though she hadn't loved Josh or expressed it to him, even though he did, Josh had known that she had cared for him. Within three weeks of the sessions Kate felt ready to be with Castle.

Lanie though, despite everyone else, had noticed the slight change in Castle and Beckett. She had called Kate on it and Kate had agreed to have Lanie over one night for wine and girl talk. That night over wine she told Lanie about her therapy sessions. She told Lanie about what Josh had told her at the airport and how she had not known how to answer him. She also told Lanie that with this happening she was thinking more and more about actually taking the leap and starting a relationship with Castle. She told her about how she had discussed in length with the therapist about when to tell Castle she was ready. She had tried to tell him just that day but he had said that he didn't feel it was the right time yet. So she reluctantly said ok and had let the matter rest.

She was in her apartment now, three weeks later. Six weeks since they had slept together, six weeks since Josh had died. She was at her kitchen table eating her dinner when all of a sudden she got nauseous. She got up from her chair and ran to the trash can. She threw up the contents of her stomach into the trash can and wiped her mouth. She went back to her table and sat down, she looked at the rest of the food on her plate and her stomach growled. She pushed the plate away from herself, she couldn't finish her food. She sat there with a hand on her stomach.

She thought back to her last period. She remembered that she was almost a week late. She had just thought it was the stress; they had been working a stressful case when she was supposed to have it. She hadn't thought about it until now. She realized, now that she had a reason to worry about her late period, that her and Josh and her and Castle had not used a condom or any other contraception.

She was in the drug store now; she was nervously looking at all the different pregnancy tests.

"You need some help honey?" A nice older lady asked her. Kate looked over to her and noticed her name tag. Rose. "This is your first time isn't it?" The lady asked her.

"Yeah, first scare. I don't know what to buy." Kate said with a hesitant laugh.

"Ok well when was your last period and how many days were you late?" She said looking at the stock.

"My last period was three weeks ago and I was a week late." Kate said to the lady.

"Have you had a history of being late?" The lady was asking all the necessary questions to pick the right test for her.

"No I am always on time." Kate said fidgeting.

"Ok well I think it would be in your best interest to try this one." Rose said handing her a box. There were three tests in the box. "Since this is the first time I would suggest using all three tests just to be sure no matter what the outcome."

"Thank you." She said taking the box from Rose.

"Good luck sweetie." Rose said walking away.

She was sitting on the floor of her bathroom with the three pregnancy tests all lined up in front of her. The first one on top, the second in the middle and the last closest to her. She sat and waited for the results that would seal her fate. The first one started to show its results. Positive. She sat there trying to not get worked up until the other two tests were developed. The second test read negative. The third as well read negative. She sat there and picked up the positive test. She sighed as a tear slid down her cheek.

She called Lanie, she needed to know from a medical standpoint and Lanie could run professional tests with her equipment.

"Dr. Parish." Lanie answered the phone.

"Hey Lanie, it's Kate."

"Oh hey girl, what's up."

"I need to talk to you can you meet me at the morgue?" Kate asked.

"Um, yeah ok but we can talk at your apartment or mine.." Lanie said confused.

"No, I .. I need you to run a few tests for me.." Kate said hesitantly.

"Ok." Something in her voice told Lanie that Kate would more than explain when they got there.

Kate grabbed the pregnancy test that was positive and her jacket and headed out the door. 15 minutes later she was at the morgue waiting for Lanie. Lanie arrived and got off the elevator and let Kate and herself into the morgue.

When they had set their jackets down Lanie turned to Kate with her hand on her hip and said. "What is this about Kate."

"Sit down." Kate said motioning to the table. Lanie sat down and Kate followed. She reached into her pocket ready to retrieve the pregnancy test. "I was late a week on my last period. Tonight I threw up my dinner and couldn't finish it. My breasts are tender and I have gained a couple pounds."

"Oh honey, are you pregnant?" Lanie said putting her hand on Kates.

Kate pulled out the pregnancy test from her pocket and laid it on the table. Lanie picked it up and looked at it with wide eyes.

"The reason I need you to test me is because that is the first test I took. I took two more after and they were negative so I don't know which is right."

"Ok. But honey, if you are pregnant… How are you gonna take having Josh's baby?" Lanie said looking concerned at Kate.

"Um. That's the other thing…" Kate said fidgeting and looking away. She swallowed and looked back at Lanie directly in the eye. "I slept with Josh the night before he left. Then when he died I went home from the precinct and Castle came over to check on me. I asked him to stay after I had cried in his arms and he did. We fell asleep on the couch, when I woke up I told him I loved him and kissed him. We had sex." Kate said breaking the eye contact with Lanie when she saw the hurt in her friend's eyes.

"You finally took the plunge with writer-boy and didn't even tell me?" Lanie said hurt.

"I didn't say anything because we both decided to put off being together until I was completely over Josh. We haven't even kissed since that conversation and that was a month and a half ago!" Kate said.

"Woah, wait a minute. So you slept with Josh and then Castle all in a 48 hr period? 6 weeks ago?"

"Yes." Kate looked down. When put in those terms it sounded dirty and disrespectful. She had felt completely justified at the time. Now, though, when it was worded like that did she feel guilty for jumping Castle so soon after losing Josh.

"So you don't know who the father is, do you?"

"No." Kate said looking up into Lanie's eyes. Lanie watched as tears shone in her best friend's eyes.

"Ok I will run your urine and check it to see if you are pregnant." Lanie said getting up to get a sample cup for Kate.

30 minutes later Kate was staring down at the print out with her results. Positive. She rested her hand on her cheek and took a deep breath in. She looked up to Lanie and said. "What am I going to do?"

"Are you going to tell Castle?" Lanie asked gently.

"No, I think it is best I wait till I actually know who's baby it is."

"Well if you are getting antsy to tell Castle you can have a paternity test done by an Obstetrician between 8 to 12 weeks. It's called a Chorionic Villus Sampling. They will explain the procedure to you if you opt to have it." Lanie said to Kate.

"Ok. Well for right now I just want to keep this quiet. I want to tell Castle but I don't want him to feel awkward if the baby ends up being Josh's." Kate said.

The next month was going to be hard. She wanted to be with him so bad, but this would prevent that. Now that she knew what was going on she realized that several changes in her body made complete sense. If she was with Castle again before she told him, even though he had only seen her naked once, he would notice the changes as well. The man was annoyingly observant.

The next month Castle was patient as always. It had been a month since she had said she was ready. In a way he was glad she had agreed to wait a little longer, even another month, it meant that she wanted to be truly ready for them to be together.

Kate walked into the Obstetricians office and gave her name. She sat in the waiting room anticipating for her name to be called. Ten minutes later she was sitting on the examination chair in a cloth gown. The doctor came in and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Steffensmeier. How are we feeling today?" She said looking at her clipboard with Kate's file. "Kate is it?"

"Yes, and I am good." Kate said, she was nervous; this was her first appointment with an actual doctor. She had been updating Lanie with her symptoms, cravings and had started taking prenatal vitamins.

"So it says here that you are 10 weeks. That means you get a vaginal ultrasound." The doctor said all to cheerily as she slapped on the gloves.

"I will need you to lie down and put your feet in these holsters please." The doctor said to Kate.

Once they were situated and the screen was pulled up the doctor showed Kate her baby. There were black and white grainy pictures on the screen. There before her eyes was the little person she had created.

"The baby looks good, Kate and according to what you told the nurses you seem to be completely healthy. They did mention something about a Chorionic Villus Sampling." She said looking up from the clip board as Kate sat back up.

"Yes I … I would like to find out the DNA of the father please." Beckett said as the blood rushed to her cheeks. This was more embarrassing than she had thought.

"Ok. No problem. You may experience some more discomfort, more so than a pelvic exam. A catheter is inserted through the cervix and a small sample is taken from the outside of the gestational sack by gentle suction. This sampling procedure allows us to obtain a small amount of fetal chorionic villi which is used for the paternity test."

"Ok." Kate said.

"I will need you to lie down again." The doctor said preparing the catheter.

Once the procedure was done and the sampling had been sent to the lab, the doctor informed her she would call with the results. She told Kate that the results would be done in about 2 weeks. Kate thanked her and got dressed and left.

She went home and put on some comfy clothes. Her breasts had become extremely tender so she had taken her bra off. She replaced her bra and top with a soft, tight cotton work out tank. Her pants she replaced with soft cotton yoga pants with a wide band she could fold down if the pressure was too much on her belly.

She was sitting on her couch eating Chinese take-out when her doorbell rang. Not expecting castle she pulled her shirt up a little to scratch her itchy belly. She pulled her shirt down before she opened the door but it didn't fully reach her pants, exposing some of her slightly rounded tummy. She wasn't big necessarily but she was noticeable that she had started to wear looser fitting tops to work so as not to give it away.

She opened the door and there stood Castle. He took in the sight before him and his gaze immediately stopped at her chest. Her nipples had chosen to harden much to her dismay, damn side effect she thought.

"Castle.." She said causing him to look up. She cursed inwardly, there was no way to hide it now not with him catching her in tight clothes that were almost too small.

"Hi.." He said a look of confusion on his face.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked him. She might as well tell him now, she would have the results soon enough.

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><p><strong>Please review :D Thank you for all the support of this story! I also appreciate all the alerts and reviews I have received thus far!<strong>

**Authors Note: I realize the doctor has no DNA to match the baby's too. That is in the next chapter. She can't get Josh's DNA because he is dead. She can't get Castles either till he knows she is pregnant. He would ask why she needed it so she was going to have to tell him anyway. Please be patient. :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors note: The lack of DNA to match the baby's too will be addressed in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

"Sure." Castle said and walked into her apartment.

She closed the door behind him and walked towards the living room to the couch. She sat down and went back to eating her Chinese food. She looked up at him just standing there watching her. She patted the couch next to her for him to sit down.

He hesitated briefly but joined her on the couch. There was something different he thought. He didn't want to sound like a pervert or anything but her breasts seemed bigger, and she had gained weight.

"So why are you here?" She asked with a mouthful of Lo Mein.

"Oh I ah, I wanted to talk." He said smiling at her. "About Us."

She looked up and searched his face, trying to find any sign that he didn't want to be with her anymore. He saw her look at him, her eyes roaming his face. He rested his hand on hers that was in her lap.

"I think now is a good time. It has been two and a half months. You seem to be doing a lot better and you seem genuinely happy." He said looking into her eyes.

"I am." She said smiling thinking about the little life inside her. Even if it did end up being Josh's baby she would still have the privilege of bringing a new life into the world.

"Good. So you agree? We can be together now?" He said as he rested his hand on her cheek.

"Yes." She whispered, caught in his unbelievably blue eyes.

He leaned in to kiss her. He had barely ghosted his lips over hers when she realized she hadn't told him yet. Slightly panicked she pulled back before they made it to full on make out.

"Rick…." She said hesitantly looking down. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Kate?" He almost looked hurt by the way she had pulled away and said his name.

"I need to tell you something. And please, I need you to not freak out and be understanding.." She said now looking into his eyes as she rested her palm on his cheek.

"Ok." He said taking her hand in his while it rested on his face.

"I'm pregnant." She said in a hushed tone.

"What? You're pregnant!" He said, the joy and excitement overwhelming his voice. He leaned in to kiss her again but she pulled back and rested her finger on his lips.

"Wait.. there is more." She said to him.

"Ok. I'm sorry, go on." Castle said sitting back smiling at her.

"There is a chance the baby isn't yours.." She said hesitantly.

Rick came back to his senses. That's right he thought, they had only slept together once. She had been with Josh for months…. The thought of him making love to her while she was pregnant with another man's baby almost made him sick. He felt ashamed all over again, he felt as if he tried to take something that still belonged to someone else.

She saw the emotions play out on his face. Joy, replaced by confusion, that morphed into realization and then to regret and guilt. Wishing the joy would come back she rested her hand on his cheek again and brought his face to hers.

"Hey.." she whispered to him.

"When was the last time you and Josh had sex." He cringed as he asked her the completely personal question.

She looked at him, she couldn't bear to tell him about her lack of responsibility. Her laxness.

"Kate… when. I have to know." He said in an authoritative tone.

"The … the night before you and me… the night before he left for Africa…" She said, a sob escaping her mouth.

"Ok…" He said. There was no way for him to know if it was his baby or not.

"How far are you?" He asked as he looked down at her tiny little bump. She couldn't be that far along. She was thin to begin with, she would be showing within a few weeks.

"10 weeks.." she said resting her hand on her belly.

"How will you know whose baby it is?" He asked.

"The doctor did a paternity test yesterday. I will have the results in 2 weeks. But I need a sample of your DNA to see if it matches. I will send it into the lab tomorrow they called me earlier and said they needed something to match it to. I was just thinking about how to ask you when you got here." She said.

"Ok." He said. "I still want to be with you. This won't stop that. Even if you are having Josh's baby, I would still like, if its ok with you, I would still like to be a part of their life. Josh is gone and I don't think I could stand by and watch you raise a child alone when its father is dead."

She looked up into his eyes and saw the love, the understanding and the determination. She smiled at him and pulled his head down. She kissed him tenderly, she sighed at the contact that they regained after what seemed like forever. She would never stop loving kissing him. He was like a drug to her and she was addicted. She deepened the kiss, causing him to move forward and put his left hand on her waist to pull her into him.

Not again, she thought, there must be something about this couch… She smiled while they kissed and started to laugh. He felt her smile and start to laugh and couldn't help it he smiled too breaking their kiss.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing, just that we are at it again on this couch. I think there is something in it.." She said laughing.

He laughed. He loved seeing her like this. She was glowing. He thought about that little person growing inside of her. He looked down at her belly again. He looked up again and in to her eyes. She had stopped laughing and was watching him watch her.

"May I?" He said slightly lifting her tank.

"Yeah." She said leaning back a little bit so he could push her shirt up a little bit to see her slowly growing belly.

He rubbed his hand over her belly causing her to giggle slightly. He leaned down and kissed her right above the belly button.

"Hi, baby.. I don't know if you are my baby yet, but I want to be your daddy. You already have an amazing mommy." He said looking up at Kate. She was smiling down at him. He sat up again and kissed her lovingly.

"I love you." He said as he set his forehead on hers. They peered into each other's eyes like that for a few moments. She closed her eyes first and kissed him back.

"I love you too." She said.

They sat on the couch cuddled together, with her head on his chest and his hand on her tummy. They talked about the future and how this baby was going to change their lives. She told him that she still wanted it to be kept a secret for a while, at least until they knew whose baby it was. They fell asleep on the couch together. When they woke up it was dark outside and Kate's stomach was growling.

"Sounds like someone is hungry." He said laughing.

"Yes we are." Kate said smiling.

"What would you like? I will go get you anything you desire." He said rubbing her tummy.

"Mmmm don't go anywhere I want you!" She said kissing his neck.

He laughed and pulled her away from his neck. "You can have me later. Right now you and that precious baby need food. Besides you have to be having cravings now." He said getting up from the couch so she wouldn't attack him again.

She sat there and thought. It struck her. She smiled. "I know what I want. There is a cute little café down the block. They have this amazing dish called chicken and waffles. I would love that right now." She said getting a dreamy look in her eye imagining the sweet strawberry butter on the buttermilk Belgian waffle with the crispy all white meat chicken strips and warm sweet maple syrup.

"That sounds perfect. I will be right back he said bending down to kiss her chastely on the lips. With that he left to get their food.

They ate, Kate's eyes continuously rolling into the back of her head. She had never opted to try this seemingly weird combination, now that she had she feared that she would be craving it a lot. They barely talked through the meal. Kate's appetite had grown already Rick noted as he smiled. He watched as she wolfed down the waffles and chicken. He had no idea why but the sight of the woman he loved possibly carrying his child, eating for two at a rapid pace, was insanely sexy.

"Don't hurt yourself. You still have to save room for your other craving and desire remember?" He said in a playful deep tone. She looked up at him and saw that his pupils had dilated since they had started eating. Was he turned on?

"Oh I have plenty of room left for that." She said seductively raising her eyebrow.

"Well I think it is time to move on to dessert then…" Castle said getting up and pulling her up from her chair forcibly. He pulled her into his body hard and crashed down on her lips.

His hands immediately went to cup her behind causing her to rise on her toes. Her hands found their place in his hair and on his neck. She moaned from the force of him. He spun them around until they reached the wall. He pushed her into the wall breaking the kiss only so he could assault her neck. She sighed as she ran her fingers through his hair. She arched her back and made a low deep sound as he kissed his way down her neck and nipped lightly on her clavicle.

His hands had inched up from her behind up her sides so that his hands slipped under the bottom of her shirt. She whimpered again as he ran his warm hands up her belly. A shiver ran down her as she thought about the last time they did this and how they possibly made a life together. While she was lost in thought and sensation he had managed to whip her tank off her body. His lips met hers again; their tongues dueled until his won. He nipped at her bottom lip causing her to gasp into his mouth.

He took his knee and placed it between her legs and pushed up. As he did so he looked into her eyes. Hers had dilated as well showing the state of her excitement. She placed her hands on his shoulder as he pressed up again, she bit her bottom lip and her eyes fluttered shut. He kissed her again. This time though the object of his affection was not her lips. He was lightly kissing each breast. He was being gentle because he knew they must be tender with her pregnancy. While he kissed her she rocked her hips. With that as an invitation he used his knee to his advantage and picked her up by her butt his knee helping by pushing her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist not breaking from the kiss. He led them into her bedroom and laid her on the bed.

She laid there allowing him to peel her yoga pants off of her legs. When he had pulled them off he took her right leg and started to kiss up her leg. When he reached her inner thigh his kisses were even lighter he kissed all the way up to the lace band of her panties before he moved over to her other leg. He started at the top this time kissing his way down her leg. When he reached her foot he lightly rubbed her ankle.

She started to sit up, he was taking too long in her book. But this wasn't her book. It was his, he had let her be in control the first time. Now it was his turn. His turn to caress and explore and remember. He wanted to be able to catch each change in her as her pregnancy progressed. He gently pressed on her upper body making her lay down again. He rose up and kissed her.

"My turn. You had yours last time." He said in a low deep voice. She kissed him again noting the need in his voice and the love in his eyes.

"Ok." She said as she lay down again.

He moved down slowly kissing down her body. He stopped at her belly and kissed it. "Hi baby. I love you."

He moved down further and kissed the lace edging of her panties. He stood up and took his clothes off, leaving only his boxers on. She inched back on the bed as he got on. She lay underneath him looking up into his eyes. His hands on either side of her shoulders and his knees on the outside of her hips. He kept her locked in place as he lowered to kiss her again. He allowed her to wrap her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her. She rocked her hips up to him letting him know she was more than ready.

He pulled back slightly and felt her hands move from his neck to his chest. She followed it down until she caught his boxers and pulled them down. He broke the kiss so he could discard of his boxers. He then looked her in the eyes as he gripped her panties and pulled them off and flung them across the room. He smiled mischievously down at her and she allowed him to settle between her legs. She wrapped her legs around his hips pulling him to where she needed him. With another rock of her hips they were united as one. Each gave and took what they needed.

The next morning Kate woke up, not alone like last time, wrapped in Rick's arms. They were facing each other with their legs intertwined and his arm wrapped possessively around her waist. She smiles into his peaceful face. She feels his small deep breaths brush her features. She realizes that she never wants to wake up any other way. This was how it was supposed to be the last time. This is how it will be from now on.

She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He woke up reciprocating what she was doing to his lips. She cupped his face in her hands and pulled back.

"Good morning." She said smiling radiantly into his face.

"Good morning, my love." He said smiling back.

She rolled on top of him straddling his waist. She raised her eyebrow down at him and smiled mocking his goofy grin. She laid her hands on his chest and leaned down to kiss him.

"Very good morning indeed." He said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She laughed and play slapped him across the chest. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down attacking her neck.

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><p><strong>Review please :D<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Castle belongs to ABC and Andrew Marlowe.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

"Beckett."

"Kate? Hi, this is Dr. Steffensmeier. I am calling back with your test results."

"Ok."

"The DNA that you provided from Richard Castle does not match the DNA from your fetus. Is there another swab of DNA you would like to provide for the lab to test?" The doctor said.

Kate was in her apartment. She had just got home from the precinct and was about to change into some more comfortable clothes when she had gotten the call. As she heard the results she sank down onto her bed and pulled her legs up to her.

"No. Thank you for the results." She said trying to remain composed.

"You're welcome, don't forget to schedule your next appointment for 17 weeks. I will see you then." With that the call ended.

Kate pushed herself up against the headboard of her bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. She rested her head in her knees and let out a saddened sigh. She sat there as the tears fell silently for the child who would never know their father. When her tears had been expended she turned her head and rested it on her knees looking out the window. There was the glow of orange light peeking into her windows as the sun set over the city.

She looked over to the clock on her bed side table. 7:30 pm. She got up and changed into a loose thin shirt and leggings. She knew she had to tell Castle at some point. She had promised to tell him the instant she got the news. She didn't want to though. She didn't want it to be true. She wanted Castle's baby not Josh's.

She sighed as she picked up her phone and dialed Castle's number.

"Hey" He answered.

"Hey… Do you think you could come over? I got the results back…" She said trying to remain calm.

"Ok yeah, I will be over there in a little while. Let me just tell mother and Alexis. I will see you soon. I love you." He said. He knew something was bothering her, she had tried to mask it in her voice but he knew her to well.

"I love you too." She hung up and took a deep breath.

She opened the door to let him in and then walked over to the kitchen table to finish eating her dinner. He closed the door behind him and followed her sitting down next to her. They sat in silence for several moments. He had laid his hand over hers as it had rested on the table. He was now rubbing small circles on the top with his thumb. He waited till she broke the silence.

"So they called and the uh.. the DNA didn't match yours…" She said moving around some of the food on her plate. She couldn't look him in the eye. She was so disappointed. She felt guilty to feel this way about a child. No she loved the child, but she would be happier about it if it's father was alive.

"Ok." He said quietly. He wasn't going to press her for information, she would tell him when she was ready.

"Yeah, so the baby is Josh's and um I forgot to tell you I'm due on October 7th. So um…" She said looking up at him now.

"I still want to be a part if you will let me. I love you and you are this baby's mother. I can't love you and not love what's a part of you. I want to take this journey with you."

She smiled a little and squeezed his hand. "I would love that. I need the support."

"So are you going to name the baby after him or yourself?" Castle asked off hand.

"I don't know, I think it's too early to decide. For right now I'm just going to adjust to the idea and the changes in my body." She said rising from the table and taking her plate to the sink.

She came over and outstretched her hand to him, he took it and rose from his seat. He enveloped her in a hug and held her tight. He stroked her hair and breathed in her scent, cherries. He brought his hand up to caress the back of her head and lowered his lips onto hers ever so slightly. She sighed into his adoring caress.

"Will you stay?" She asked pulling away and pulling him towards the couch.

"Of course. I already informed mother and Alexis that I probably wouldn't be home till the morning anyway." He said sitting down on the couch and allowing her to snuggled into him. They watched a movie and when it was done went to bed.

The next morning he woke up before her and looked into her peaceful sleeping face. He smiled at the beautiful woman in his arms. They were facing each other, his arm wrapped around her waist. He smiled when he looked down and noticed her arms hugging her belly. He felt a slight twinge of sorrow from the fact that it wasn't his baby. He had been so hopeful. It didn't matter though it was just a difference of DNA, he would raise and adopt the baby as his own.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face gently brushing his thumb over her pursed lips. He leaned down and kissed her. He kissed her lightly on the lips and then her nose, her forehead and then each cheek. He pulled her tighter when her eyes were starting to flutter open.

"Good morning, beautiful." He whispered into her ear.

She smiled dazedly up at him. "Morning" she yawned. She snuggled further into his warmth not wanting to come out.

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><p>Later at the crime scene, Beckett was crouching down next to Lanie and the body.<p>

"So do you have the results back?" Lanie whispered so as not to alert Castle.

"I do. Come over to my apartment tonight and we can talk. I have a lot to tell you." She said before she rose and went to talk to Ryan and Esposito about the area and potential witnesses.

In the car on the way back to the precinct, Castle was quietly thinking. She looked over to him and saw his face as he thought deeply upon what she assumed was their current situation. She reached over and laid her hand on his and squeezed it slightly.

"Does Lanie know?" He asked out of the blue.

She looked over at him and found him searching her face. "Yes. She is the one who confirmed it. I told her not to tell anyone. I told her I, we, would tell people when we are ready."

"So does she know that we slept together?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes. I told her when she tested me. She told me about the paternity test."

"But she doesn't know the baby is Josh's yet does she?" Castle asked.

"No, I am having her over to my apartment tonight. So you will have to stay at yours. It's a girls night." She said reluctantly. She had started to like waking up with him.

"Ok." He said turning to face the road again.

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><p>Later that night, Lanie and Kate were sitting at the kitchen table in Kate's apartment. Lanie was sipping on a glass of wine while Kate had Sierra Mist to try and calm down her morning sickness.<p>

"How are you doing?" Lanie said resting her hand on her friend's belly.

"Not too bad the morning sickness is full-fledged now though. And I got the results back from the doctor." Kate said to her friend.

"Ok. What were they?" Lanie said taking Kate's hand.

"I submitted DNA for Castle because I could get his and not Josh's. The results came back negative so I am having Josh's baby." She said looking down.

"Oh honey, does Castle know? Did you tell him you are pregnant?"

"Yes. He knows, he came over the day I had the procedure done and caught me in tight fitting clothing. I could tell from how he was looking at me that he knew something was up. I told him I was pregnant but that I didn't know who the father was. So he willingly gave me DNA to send to the lab. I also told him that it wasn't his baby." She said, unshed tears shining in her eyes.

"How did he take it?" Lanie said apprehensively.

"He wants to help, Lanie. He still wants to be with me and help me go through this even though he isn't the father. He said he couldn't stand by and watch me raise a fatherless child. Said he couldn't stand to watch me be a single mother. Even before he knew he was kissing my belly telling the baby that he loved it and that he wanted to be its daddy." Kate said as tears started to flow from her eyes.

"That is amazing! You have a good man Kate. I suggest you don't mess this up. Not every man is willing to raise another's child." Lanie said squeezing her hand.

"He is so sweet. I am going to let him come to my ultrasound at 17 weeks so he can see the baby. I can't wait to see how much it has grown." She said smiling, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"You get me a picture of my niece or nephew all right?" Lanie said.

"Of course." Kate said rising to give her a hug. "Thank you Lanie."

"No problem girl. I'm just glad everything is working out." Lanie said smiling up at Kate.

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><p>The next day, Castle and Beckett were looking at the murder board and trying to find a connection when Beckett's cell phone rang.<p>

"Beckett" She answered.

"Kate? Hi, this is Dr. Steffensmeier's office calling. I understand you received your results from your paternity test two days ago."

"That's correct." Kate said into the phone.

"Well we are going to need you to come down to the office for an appointment at the request of your doctor. Will this afternoon work?"

"Um, yeah. Ok is it alright if I bring someone with me?" Kate asked looking at Rick.

"That would be fine. 4 PM?"

"That's fine. Thank you." She said hanging up.

She turned to look at Castle, confusion etched on her face. "That was the doctor's office. They want me to come in for an appointment this afternoon."

"Did they say why?" Castle asked concern at the edge of his tone.

"No, I hope there isn't something wrong with the baby." Beckett said rubbing her forehead and trying to refocus on the case at hand.

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><p>They were just entering the doctor's office when the clock struck 4 PM. Beckett gave her name and they took a seat in the waiting room. Rick looked over and saw how nerveous Kate looked. He took her hand in his and rested it on his knee.<p>

"It will be alright." He said. He looked back to the front desk, he was trying to hide his worry as well.

"Miss Beckett?" The nurse called from the open doorway into the office.

She looked up at the nurse and tried to smile. They both rose and followed the nurse into a room. It was the doctor's actual office, instead of an examination room. The nurse told them to have a seat across from the desk and the doctor would be right with them. They sat there in silence, waiting for the doctor to come in.

The door opened and Dr. Steffensmeier stepped in the room reading a file. She came around and set the file down on her desk and took her seat.

"Miss Beckett, Mr…." She said looking at Castle.

"Mr. Castle" He said to her.

"Ah, Miss Beckett, Mr. Castle. I'm sure you have been going over many reasons why I have requested that you meet with me today. As you are aware, you had a paternity test done and the results did not match with the DNA you provided."

"Yes.." Kate said.

"When my staff or the lab makes a mistake I assume full responsibility. That is why I have called you here today. I am very sorry to tell you that there was a mistake in your file. The lab accidently tested the wrong DNA to your fetus. The DNA you submitted, from Mr. Castle, was not used but another in our system. They caught the mistake after you had received your results. After they realized their mistake they re-tested the DNA of your child with the DNA of Mr. Castle and set a rush on the results. I have the new and correct results for you today."

Kate and Rick looked at each other. Each was speechless. They took ahold of each other's hand and looked expectantly at the doctor, waiting for the results.

"The DNA from Mr. Richard Castle and the DNA from your child, Miss Beckett, are a match." Dr. Steffensmeier informed them.

She gasped and he laughed joyfully. They both jumped up and he grabbed her in his arms and swung her around.

"We're going to have a baby!" He said as he set her back on the ground.

"I'm very glad to have delivered joyful news to you folks. If you don't mind, I have another appointment."

"Yes! Thank you so much Doctor." Kate said grabbing Castle's hand and leading him out of the office.

"Miss Beckett, please make an appointment for your 17 week ultrasound on your way out. I look forward to seeing you then." Dr. Steffensmeier said as they exited her office.

They were just to the car when she felt him grab her by the wrist and pull her towards him. He grabbed her by the waist and pushed her up against the car and attacked her lips. The sheer force of his actions caused her to gasp. Her gasp quickly faded as she melted from his assault on her lips. He pulled back and cupped her chin and smiled at her. She smiled back with pure joy.

He looked down and placed his hand on her tiny belly. "I love you baby. My baby." He said his fatherly grin showing on his face. She felt like crying, she had only seen that grin when he talked about or saw Alexis. She was overwhelmed with the fact of how much he already adored their child.

"I think it's time. I think we should let everyone know now. Now that we know it's our baby and that he or she is healthy. Captain Montgomery will have to know soon anyway." Kate said placing her hand on his.

"Ok. If you are ready. We can tell them when we get back to the precinct." Rick said opening the door for her.

"No this deserves a celebration. Let's have everyone to the Old Haunt for drinks and tell them there." Kate said, she was feeling festive and wanted to share this with everyone at a cheerful place.

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><p><strong>Yay! A Caskett Baby! Scared you guys there for a little bit didn't I ! From now on there will not be hardly any angst.<strong>

**Review Please :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**First and foremost I want to apologize that this chapter is shorter than most of my chapters. I don't know why but going from here has been hard. I don't really have a plan for the rest so far. So hence the long time in between updates. If you have any ideas or requests let me know. I have a general idea of where to go with this story I just need to figure out some story to fill in time voids. Anyway, yada, yada on to the chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Does Ditto work as a Disclaimer? Because I do not own Castle is getting old, I think you can tell I don't own it, it would be a little diff if I did! :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

They walked into the precinct hand in hand. Both Ryan and Esposito looked up from their desks and looked back down. Kate laughed as they both did double takes on their hands. They walked over to them, Kate unable to remove the joyous smile plastered on her face.

"Hi-ya boys." Castle said to the two detectives in front of them.

Esposito looked down at their hands again and back up. "What's going on guys?"

"What do you mean Espo?" Kate said grinning at the boys.

"You two better start talking.." Ryan said folding his arms over his chest.

"Ok. Tonight at the Old Haunt, drinks for everyone. We have an announcement to make." Castle said pulling their joined hands up and smiling at Kate.

Ryan leaned back looking at Esposito. They bumped their fists together and both said together, "We'll be there." They both got up and gathered their coats. Castle and Beckett let them know that they were letting Lanie, Alexis and Martha now as well. Next they headed to Montgomery's office.

Beckett knocked on the door and waited for the Captain to motion them inside. He looked up and waved them in.

"What's up Beckett, Castle?" Montgomery said.

"We are inviting everyone to the Old Haunt for drinks tonight." Castle spoke up.

"We?" Montgomery said, the question edging his voice.

"We," Kate said looking at Castle, "Have an announcement for everyone tonight."

"Ok, I could go for a cold one tonight." He said wrapping up the final remnants of his paper work. He stood up and they all exited the precinct together.

On the way out Kate sent a txt to Lanie. "Drinks at the Old Haunt tonight. Special announcement about Me and Writer Boy."

Kate laughed as she read Lanie's response.

"You know that's right! I will be there!"

Kate looked at Castle and said, "You let your mom and Alexis know to meet us at the Old Haunt?"

He smiled and nodded his head as they got into the cab to head to his bar. They arrived fifteen minutes later and headed in to greet all their friends.

Esposito and Ryan were already seated at the bar drinking their beers. On either side of them were their leading ladies. On the left of Esposito sat Lanie and at the right of Ryan sat Jenny. Montgomery was in the middle separating the boys as they were having a very in depth conversation about the Knicks They both smiled at their friends. Behind them entered Martha and Alexis. Alexis came up and gave her dad a bear hug when she reached him. It wasn't until she pulled back and looked down that she noticed that her father and Kate were holding hands. She looked up at them with a question in her face and he smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led his two ladies to the bar.

After everyone had settled in and had a drink, Castle cleared his throat. He took Kate's hand in his again and said, "If we could have everyone's attention." All eyes turned to them. "As you know, the reason you are here tonight is that Kate and I have an announcement."

Everyone became quiet, waiting for them to say what they had been waiting four years to hear. Little did they know that they would get that and so much more.

"Kate and I are officially together." Rick said proudly. A proud grin causing his eyes to scrunch up as he looked at their friends.

Hoots and hollers rang out from those in front of them. Many muttered 'finally' while others simply clapped. Beckett looked up at the grin on Castle's face and beamed out at the crowd.

"There is more." She said. The crowd again became silent, all eyes on them, listening intently for the rest of the news. "I'm Pregnant!" She said quickly.

They watched as people gasped and put their hands over their mouths. Beckett started to feel a little uncomfortable until everyone cheered even louder than before. She watched as Lanie ran up and practically tackled her.

"OMG! Girl! Congrats! You found out its Castle's?" She asked Kate after she hugged her best friend.

"Yup. Me and Castle are starting a family." Kate said smiling up at Castle.

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Lanie said before she skipped away to celebrate with the rest of the crowd.

"Dad!" Alexis said running up to them. "Congrats!" She said hugging Kate forcefully.

Kate laughed nervously, "You aren't mad since this is so fast?"

"How can I be mad! I'm going to have a little brother or sister! And you! I couldn't be happier!" Alexis elated.

"Darling!" Martha said coming up and resting her hand on her sons cheek. "And you, you magnificent creature." Martha said turning to smile at Kate and rest her hand on her arm.

"You take care of my other little grandbaby!" She said embracing them both.

The atmosphere was of pure joy and celebration. A new beginning had been created in times of distress and comfort. Now everyone would watch as it grew and was born and nurtured with love.

After everyone had gone home to their respective homes, Kate and Rick were cleaning up the remnants of their celebration.

"I'm so glad it is out of the way. Now we don't have to worry about how we act around each other. We don't have to hide." She said smiling at him.

"Good because I don't know if I can keep my hands off you now that I know you are all mine." He said coming up and encircling his arms around her waist from behind. He rested his hands on her belly. He brushed her hair aside and kissed her sweetly on the neck.

"I don't want you to." She purred as he nuzzled her neck more. Licked her lightly behind the ear causing her to giggle.

Alexis was at the other corner of the room cleaning up the glasses that littered the tables and booths and pool tables. She looked up when she heard the faint noise of a giggle. She noticed her father and Kate by the bar, they were wrapped in each other's arms and her dad kissing Kate. She smiled at the sight. She was ecstatic about Kate and the baby. She had never seen her father this happy before. Not even when she knew that he loved Kate and hadn't told her yet. She walked quietly over to the juke box and quickly chose a soft romantic song. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri started to fill the room.

Kate smiled when she heard the music starting to play, noting the appropriateness of the chosen song. She knew Alexis had turned it on. She started to sway to the slow song. Rick tightened his grip on her and pulled her fully into is front and started to sway with her.

Alexis smiled as she watched them sway to the music. She looked up and say Martha in a booth towards the back with a glass of wine. She went over and sat opposite of her.

"They look so happy and in love." Martha said sighing as she watched her son dance with the love of his life.

"Yeah, it's amazing." Alexis said resting her head in her arms on the table and watching two of the people she loved the most, dance slowly.

Kate pulled from his grasp and turned around in his arms to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he rested his hands on her hips, pulling her into him close again. To his surprise she started to sing along with the song.

"_Time stands still _

_Beauty in all she is _

_I will be brave _

_I will not let anything take away _

_What's standing in front of me _

_Every breath _

_Every hour has come to this _

_One step closer _

_I have died everyday waiting for you _

_Darling don't be afraid I have loved you _

_For a thousand years _

_I love you for a thousand more_

_And all along I believed I would find you _

_Time has brought your heart to me _

_I have loved you for a thousand years _

_I love you for a thousand more." _

She stopped singing and brought her hand up from his neck and cupped his cheek. She rose up on her toes and met her lips with his. She kissed him with more love than he thought was possible. She conveyed how much she connected with the song and how true it was of them. The songs made sense now, describing how they feel. She pulled back, breaking the kiss, and smiled up at him as she brushed her thumb over his well-loved lips.

"I didn't know you could sing.." He said dreamily. Just as he thought there couldn't be anything more perfect about her, she had whipped this out.

"I never had a good song or reason too, before now." She said kissing him again.

As the song came to the end they spun around until they caught sight of the booth in the back that held the other two members of the Castle family. He watched as his mother silently sipped her wine observing them dancing. He then noticed his daughter, she was asleep on the table. It had been a long night with big announcements.

He removed Kate's arms from his neck and wrapped his arm around her waist, and led her towards the back, turning off the jukebox on his way back. He gently shook Alexis by the arm, waking her up.

"Let's go home." He said quietly. He looked at as he said this. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his shoulder. Alexis got up and took his free hand and Martha wrapped her arm around Alexis.

With that they left.

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><p><strong>So yeah, please review! And let me know if you have any views or suggestions or requests! Thanks to all who have subscribed, Favorited and reviewed!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note: First off, let me apologize for the lack of updates. I don't know what was going on but I have been experiencing writer's block with my two stories. So bear with me. I also want to apologize for the length of this chapter. It had been so long that I thought even though I didn't have quite as much in this chapter as in most of mine I should give you some more any way. So here you go.**

**Disclaimer: Andrew Marlowe owns these characters and did a marvelous job of bringing them together!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

The sun streamed into the bedroom, casting glowing rays of gold onto the couple asleep in bed. The day was already warm as it usually was in May in New York. The light reached him, causing him to squint and cover his face. He felt movement from the opposite side of the bed and opened his eyes to see his beautiful Kate illuminated by the sun. A soft smile of contentment on her face as she dreamed on the silk sheets gathered low around her belly. She sighed into her pillow as he caressed her cheek. Her hair had mussed into soft curls that had fallen over her shoulders and neck. He brushed the hair aside lowering his lips to kiss her lightly on her neck. He slowly made his way up her jawline and finally to her lips.

He smiled as he felt her kiss him back and start to deepen the kiss. His right hand moved to cradle her neck while his left pulled her hip toward him. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his putting her body flush with his. She smiled and opened her eyes looking into his as they pulled apart breathless.

"Morning, beautiful.." He whispered into her hair as he nuzzled her neck.

"Mmmmhmm, morning…." She moaned as his lips nibbled and grazed the skin under her ear.

She gasped and immediately laid her hand on her belly. The gasp scared Rick and caused him to pull back to see what was wrong.

"What is it?" He asked looking at her while he too rested his hand on her belly.

"The baby. It kicked." She giggled as she felt the pressure on her abdomen again. She looked up at Rick and rested her hand on his cheek. "We have the ultrasound today. We get to see our baby."

He smiled at her and leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips. He sat up and took her hand in his and helped her out of bed and led her to the bathroom.

"I think we should shower together to save time." He said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She laughed and followed him through the door to the shower.

An hour later they were sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office. They waited in silence, hand in hand while she laid her head on his shoulder. The nurse came to the door way and called her name.

"Kate Beckett."

Rick looked down and smiled at Kate as they both rose and followed the nurse back to the room.

"So you are here for your seventeen week appointment. And are we wanting to find out the sex of the baby?" The nurse said looking up from Kate's chart.

Kate sat on the exam table with Rick standing by her side. He held her hand and squeezed it smiling at her. She looked back to the nurse and nodded her head yes.

"Alright then if you just lay back the technician and the doctor will be in momentarily."

The nurse exited the room and shut the door behind her leaving Rick and Kate alone in the room.

"Are you nervous?" Rick asked sitting down on a chair next to Kate.

"A little. This is so new for me. I keep forgetting that you have already gone through it." She said quietly.

"I haven't gone through it with you. This is new to me too." He said taking her chin in his hand and kissing her.

She smiled as he pulled away. "What do you want?" She asked him.

"I am having a baby with the most amazing, extraordinary woman. What more could I want. I will love this child no matter what." He said.

She chuckled lightly at him. "No seriously, boy or girl? I think I want a boy." She said thinking to herself.

"That could be dangerous. I mean look how I turned out. Devilishly handsome and charming, he sure would have the ladies swooning." He said wiggling his eyebrows.

"Eh.. You're not that great." She said trying not to laugh. He grabbed his chest in mock horror.

"Why, detective! That stings!" He said before he starts to laugh.

She puts her hands on either side of his face and pulls him in for another kiss, this one longer and deeper than the first. They don't hear the knock on the door before the doctor comes in.

"Well hello." Dr. Steffensmeier says.

Kate pulls away from Rick and smiles laughing to herself. He does the same noticing the slight blush on her cheeks.

"Hello, Doctor." She says regaining her composure.

"So Kate, you are here for your seventeen week appointment. I'm going to check your blood pressure and listen to your heart." Dr. Steffensmeier said.

Kate waited as she did what she said pressing the stethoscope to her heart and breathing deeply and waiting while she applied pressure to her arm while reading her pulse.

"Everything seems good with you Kate. Now let's have a look at your baby why don't we?" She said hitting a button on the wall to signal the technician.

"I'm going to have to have you lift your shirt over your belly and lower your pants down to the base of it. I will be applying a gel that helps the sonogram machine show the baby." Dr. Steffensmeier said reaching down into a cabinet to get the gel.

"Ok." Kate said pulling her shirt up and unbuttoning her jeans and folding them down further. Rick smiled at the sight of her belly again. No matter how many times he had seen it since they had gotten together he still was amazed at the fact that they had caused a life to be made together.

The door opened and the sonogram machine was rolled in by the technician. The doctor took the machine from him and rolled it close to Kate. The technician moved to the back of the room and turned the lights off. He took a seat in the corner respectfully giving the couple as much privacy as possible.

Dr. Steffensmeier squirted the gel onto Kate's belly, causing Kate to gasp from the chilling sensation of the gel, she then took the wand and started to move it over her stomach.

The screen lit up with the picture of the fetus. Rick and Kate both gasped as they saw the little wonder on the screen before them. They saw the heartbeat steady and strong. The saw his little hands fisted and waving, putting on a show for them. The baby's foot kicked and Kate marveled as she watched this onscreen the same time she felt it from within. As the baby's leg fell down again they were finally shown what their child would be. A boy.

She smiled and turned to Castle. "You are going to have a son." She said resting her hand on his cheek.

"A son." He breathed.

"Your baby boy looks very healthy Kate, Rick. He is growing at the normal rate and shows wonderful signs of life and personality already. He is a fighter." She said noting his kicking.

"He is already practicing his wave too." Castle winked. Kate laughed next to him.

An hour later they were walking into the precinct. It was 11 am. She had requested to come in late due to her doctor's appointment. She walked over to her desk, Castles hand nestled on her lower back. He pulled the chair out for her and let her sit down, pushing the chair in for her before he settled into his own chair.

Montgomery noticed that his star detective was at her desk and wandered out to ask her how the appointment went.

"Beckett, Castle, how did the appointment go?"

"It went really well." Kate said looking up and smiling at her captain. "We are having a boy." She said proudly.

Montgomery chuckled. "That's all you need a mini castle running around. You already have to take care of the one you got!" He laughed as he walked back to his office. He turned at the door way and congratulated them before entering.

"Kate." Rick said resting his hand on hers. She looked over to him and smiled. She still hadn't fully grown used to him calling her by her first name when they were at work.

"I think you should move into the loft." Castle said quickly, looking down at their intertwined fingers.

Her brows knit in thought. "Why? We share equal time with both apartments." She said.

"Yes, but we almost never spend a night apart now. It doesn't make sense to keep two places if we are always together and it doesn't make sense to have two places when we are together with a baby. It would be confusing to them to switch between two homes. I want you in my home. Always." Castle said looking deeply into her eyes.

She sat there peering into his eyes. She felt the slight tug of hesitation. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath thinking that he was right. She was almost never at her place anymore anyway, only occasionally to get a night of sleep when she needed to think. They for the most part stayed at Rick's apartment.

"Ok. I will move in with you." She said meeting his eyes.

"Thank you." He said pulling her hand up to his lips and kissing it.

They heard a whistle behind them and looked up to see Esposito and Ryan watching them from Espo's desk. Kate looked up and rolled her eyes laughing at the two detectives watching them.

"Don't you two have some work to do?" She said to them.

"Yeah. Lanie has some test results she wants you to see. You better get down there she has been waiting all morning." Esposito says sitting down at his desk.

"Ok. We will be back then." Kate says as she rises from her chair and heads to the elevator with castle in tow.

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><p><strong>Ok. So let me know what you think! I 3 reviews! so sorry for the wait.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Experiencing writers block. But hopefully I will be updating more now. I figured out where I wanted this story to go and look forward to bringing it home!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

"You wanted to see us?" Kate says as she walks into the morgue. Stopping short of Dr. Parish and crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's about time you got down here girl. I have been waiting…" Lanie says exasperated.

"Oh, I'm sorry.. Were you waiting on something?" Kate teases her friend.

"Damn Girl you know what I want! Well what are you having?" She says raising her eyebrow while she puts her hands on her hips.

She turns her arduous stare onto Castle.

"A boy!" He can't contain his excitement any longer.

"Uh oh, I hope you know what you are getting into girl. A mini castle, I shudder to think about all the trouble he will get into or cause especially considering who his daddy is." Lanie says loosening her stance and walking over to Kate to give her a hug. "Congratulations, to both of you." Lanie says as she pulls back and looks at both of them.

"So Lanie did you have any results you wanted to show me?" Kate said, getting to the point of the visit now that that was out of the way.

"Yeah, I just finished the autopsy on your John Doe. 9 mm GSW to the chest, there are bruises around the wound. I'm guessing that the assailant was right in front of the victim and had the muzzle of the gun against his chest. This is definitely a personal killing. The victim knew whoever killed him." Lanie says walking around the body and showing them the wound.

"Ok have you gotten anything back on his prints?"

"No, he isn't in the system and as far as I know no one has reported him to missing persons." Lanie says looking at the file that she compiled with all his reports.

"Ok well if you get a hit down here give me a call. I'm going to have the boys run them again upstairs. Castle and I are going to go back to the scene of the crime and see if CSU missed anything." Beckett says turning to Castle.

"Thanks Lanie." Castle says smiling to the M. E. before following Beckett out of the morgue.

Castle hurried to catch up with Kate; he came alongside her and rested his hand on the small of her back. When they reached the elevator he pressed the button and waited for the doors to open, pushing lightly on her back when they did. They rode in companionable silence, hand in hand. She smiled as this little intimacy further molded them together. She looked up at her partner and found him looking down at her.

He smiles at her as he lifts his hand to caress her cheek lowering his lips to meet hers in a soft, intimate kiss.

"I love you." He says as he opens his eyes and looks upon her serene face with her eyes still closed and her lips parted, ready for more.

Slowly she opens her eyes and a grin spreads across her face. She has never been so happy in her entire life. She pulls him out of the elevator when they reach their floor and leads them to her desk.

After checking her files on her computer for her notes on this specific case and making sure her gun is adequately loaded she tells Ryan and Esposito to keep running searches on their John Doe so they can get an I.D. on him.

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><p>They walked into the alley off of 5th Avenue and East 27th St. Directly above them was the lounge that their victim had been at the night of the murder. Witnesses had identified him only as a consumer that had been present at the business. No one had known who he was or who he was with. Even the bar tender had said that this was the first time he had seen him and the woman that had been with him. They were still trying to track down the woman as well. She was at the top of the suspect list and so far she had been the last one to see him alive.<p>

The crime, though, had taken place in the alley below the lounge, behind the dumpsters of several businesses. This had ensured that the body wouldn't be found for at least three days when the garbage was picked up. The garbage man had found the body when he was hooking up the truck to the dumpster and immediately had called the police. Thus since this was an active crime scene the trash had yet to be taken out.

They walked over to the spot where the body had lain. Kate crouched down again to look at the bloodstain that adorned the concrete. Bile rose up in her throat and she lunged toward the brick wall of the building, heaving her breakfast behind one of the dumpsters. She felt Castles warm hand brush her neck and she knew he was holding her hair back away from her face.

Unfortunately, the sight of Kate throwing up mixed with the sight of dried blood and the reeking aroma of rotten food and grease were a cocktail for the worst. Castle covered his mouth as he turned away from her and threw up in the opposite direction.

"At least I have an excuse for the sudden loss of my insides." Kate joked as she wiped her hand across her mouth.

Castle just crouched there with his hands on his knees, gathering his bearings. He went to take a deep breath but was caught off guard by Kate's fingers pinching his nose, cutting off his air supply.

"Do you want to start dry heaving? I wouldn't breath this air back in after throwing up once. Come on we have compromised the crime scene enough already. Let's get some fresh air and something to wash the taste out of our mouths." Kate said leading him out of the alley and down the street back to her car.

She handed him her bottle of hand sanitizer and he gratefully took it and cleaned his hands.

"By the way, the crime scene had nothing to do with me getting sick back there." He said trying to protect his macho image after three years.

"Oh, really? What was it then?" Kate asked looking over at him, a teasing tone in her voice.

"It was just sympathy sickness. I couldn't bear to see you suffering because of your pregnancy. Soo apparently my body had to do something about it." He said.

"Is that so?" She said, a grin tugging on her lips as she pulled up to a coffee shop.

"That's my story and I'm sticking to it." Castle says as he gets out of the car and heads into the coffee shop. She follows him in and grabs them a table in one of the front windows and waits for him to join them with their drinks.

"White tea with vanilla and almond, it has a tiny bit of caffeine but I read that it is ok in small amounts during pregnancy. And since you can't have your favorite vanilla latte any more I thought u might want something with a little vanilla in it." Castle said setting a mug down in front of her.

"Thanks. What do you have? It's not coffee, I can tell by the smell." Kate said taking the warm mug into her hands.

"I got English Breakfast tea with honey. I didn't want to get coffee because you can't have any and I thought it was only fair that I didn't rub it in your face." Castle said smiling at her and pushing a bear claw towards her.

"I'm so glad these things aren't off limits though. I can't seem to get my fill of them!" She said pulling a piece off and placing it in her mouth. A pleased grin spread across her face and her eyes closed as she sighed in pleasure.

"You are so beautiful. I love watching you smile." He said lifting her hand to his lips and gently kissing it.

"Yeah, well I was smiling at the bear claw so it should be happy too." She smirked.

"We need to talk about this weekend. I have a book signing to go to in Massachusetts and I don't think we will have this case wrapped up by then. It is already Wednesday and I need to leave Friday morning." Rick said not letting go of her hand.

"Yeah, I almost forgot about that." Kate said looking out the window. She didn't know how she was going to handle the weekend. She had been with Castle almost the entire time since she had told him she was pregnant. This weekend would be the longest time apart for them in almost 2 months.

"I think you should stay in the loft with mother and Alexis. If something happens or you need help with something they will be there for you. Plus it will give you three time to bond. It was a little bit of a shock to them and we have kinda thrown ourselves together rather quickly in the last 2 months. This will give a little break in the adjustment period." Castle said in a rush, he didn't want to give Kate any time to object or throw her argument in.

"But most of my stuff is at my apartment and I would be comfortable in my own bed since I won't have you to snuggle up with." She pouted.

He chuckled at the childish pout and said, "Yes but if you stay in the loft you can sleep in our nice king sized bed and wrap yourself up in our memories and my silk sheets. Please, Kate? I mean you did agree to move in with me earlier, I think having this weekend without me will help you get somewhat established in your own way, give you some alone time to adjust."

"All right. I guess it would be nice to have some girl time. Plus Alexis and I can start scheming together now. I'm pretty sure she could teach me some maneuvers in laser tag too so I can kick your asst when she goes to college." Kate says grinning at him as she pops the last bite of the pastry in her mouth.

"Oh, no what have I got myself into! Now not only my daughter but my girlfriend scheming to bring down my title of laser tag king!" Castle said laughing. "Thank you." He said softly and leaned across the table to give her a soft kiss on the lips.

"Well now that we have restored some of what we lost in our stomachs, I guess we should head back to the precinct to see if the boys have turned up anything on our John Doe or if they had any luck with suspects from the lounge."

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><p>"You guys get a hit on anyone from missing persons yet?" Beckett asked as she took her seat behind her desk.<p>

"No we are still pulling a blank with the victim's id." Ryan said.

"You would think that at least one person would notice that this guy has gone missing, I mean he has been dead at least three days." Esposito responded.

"Yeah well he didn't have a wedding ring on so he isn't married, so we don't have a wife looking for him. He probably lives alone and maybe his neighbors think that he just went out of town." Beckett said looking into a file.

"What about work? Our victim was dressed well. His clothes were expensive; those jeans are probably $200 and that shirt and jacket, Armani. And don't get me started on his leather shoes. This guy had money." Castle said remembering the victim's appearance.

"Well apparently he doesn't have an employer concerned about him because nowhere has contacted us to tell us that their employee or boss is missing." Beckett says logging into her computer.

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><p>"Sir, we have a woman down here who is requesting to talk to someone about her missing boyfriend. He went missing Sunday she thinks. The last time she saw him was Saturday night. She was supposed to meet him for lunch on Monday. Her name is Sandra Wilson." The officer at the front desk told Captain Montgomery.<p>

"Ok thank you Officer Hastings, please send her up I will have Detective Beckett talk with her." Montgomery said and then hung up.

This case was proving to be a tough one for his team. He had heard how Beckett and Castle had handled their revisit of the crime scene and knew that maybe she shouldn't be in these situations. At least till the end of her first trimester when smells and her stomach were most sensitive. To make matters worse, the body had been found with a shot to the heart with a 9mm with bruising from the muzzle of the barrel of the gun. The wallet of the victim had been removed and he was left in an alley. His prints weren't in the system. Finally though, someone was coming forth with possible info on who he might be and why he was killed.

He got up from his desk and looked out over his team and smiled as he watched Detective Beckett and her partner. They were quite a scene. Kate was sitting in her chair her right hand resting protectively over her swelling belly and her left hand intertwined with Rick's. Both were looking intently at something on her computer. He was truly happy for them. He knew that they had come together in unfortunate circumstances but he was just glad to see her finally happy. In the ten years he had known Kate Beckett she had never looked as happy or smiled as much as she did now.

He opened the door of his office and addressed her. "Detective Beckett, there is a woman coming to talk to you who may be able to identify your current victim. Her name is Sandra Wilson."

"Ok thank you sir. I will talk with her in the conference room."

Right as Beckett rose from her seat the elevator doors opened to reveal a very pretty middle aged Blonde woman. She was impeccably dressed in pressed white slacks a silk top and cream silk blazer with chunky silver jewelry and expensive leather pumps. Despite her put together appearance though Beckett could tell the woman was sick with worry and had been crying. The lines of tension visible in her forehead, between her eyebrows and around her lips, her eyes were red despite an attempt to camouflage this with eyeliner and mascara.

"Miss Wilson. If you will follow me we can talk in here." Beckett said leading the woman into the conference room, Castle close behind.

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><p><strong>Sooo please review and let me know what you think. I promise an update by the end of this week.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N I'm so sorry that this took me sooo long to post but I've been really busy. I recently moved into my own place so hopefully I will be writing more since I don't have cable or internet. But because I don't have internet it may take me a little while to post because I have to go where there is Wifi. Hopefully I will be able to get Wifi soon but for now enjoy the update :)**

"What did she say Beckett?" Esposito asked as Kate and Rick exited the conference room.

"His name is Jared Hudson, he was 32 and was a high account holding stock broker. He was scheduled to have today off, that's why his employer didn't call about him missing. The girlfriend wasn't supposed to see him till today and he didn't show up so she called the police and then she was informed of his death. She said that she didn't think he had any enemies but they had only been dating six months and hadn't even reached the staying over at each other's place stage yet due to both of their frantic work schedules she is a high society real estate broker. She said when she left his place Saturday night he seemed fine, not agitated or restless at all." Beckett said as she walked toward the murder board. She wrote his name and age under his picture and added Sandra Wilson's information to the board.

"Maybe we should look into any scandals involving the stock market. You never know, money is a pretty big motivator for some. If this guy was involved in one with a client's money that would definitely provide a pretty personal motive." Castle said as he leaned against Kate's desk looking at what they had on the murder board.

"I don't know about scandal but you could be on to something Castle." Beckett said. "Ryan, you and Espo look into his financials and his job and what his status was where he worked. Where he was on the Boss' good list and who was above and under him. This could just prove to be a severe case of jealousy gone wrong."

"You got it boss. Let's go bro." Ryan said to his partner.

"Oh! Guys!" Beckett said as she turned around to go sit at her desk.

They both turned around and waited for her to continue.

"Me and Castle are having a boy." Kate said as she grabbed Castle's hand and rested her other one on her small bump.

"Congrats Guys!" Ryan said emphatically. "Nice one bro." Espo winked at Castle. Kate glared at Esposito, "I mean congratulations to both of you!" Esposito said quickly. Castle looked at Kate and they both burst out laughing. "Thanks guys." She said and dismissed them to follow up on their leads.

Later that night they were a little farther into the case. Jared Hudson had been highly valued by his boss. It was a "tragic loss both financially for the firm and personally for all those who loved him" according to his boss. He had the most accounts on the whole floor and was the person who received all the wary new clients interesting in investing. According to the coworkers they talked with he was loved by almost everyone. Although one employee did tell them that he had lost a few accounts recently due to some bad investment advice. By that time though Kate was tired and hungry so they had thanked everyone and made notes to follow up the next day if anyone thought of any other pertinent information to the investigation.

On their way home they stopped and grabbed Chinese take-out from Kate's favorite place and sat on the couch eating it.

"So have you thought of any names that you like now that we know that the baby is a boy?" Castle asked Kate as he sat the empty Chinese carton on the coffee table in front of them and turned to watch her eat her Lo Mein with her chop sticks.

"Well I haven't really had time to think about it what with this murder case taking up our time." She said.

"I was thinking about Bryce or Lyle." Castle said as he took her feet in his hands and started to rub them. "Don't you think it's time to give up the heels at least till the baby is born?"

"I will probably just go to lower pumps until like month 8 and 9. I like Malcolm and Paxton. But we have plenty of time to think about names I just want to relax tonight. I don't like this case. The guy looks too nice to deserve what happened to him and his girlfriend seemed like she really loved him." Kate said as she sighed and laid her head back on the sofa.

Castle scooted closer to her and picked her up and placed her in his lap and rested her head on his shoulder. "Just rest, I'm going to turn a movie on and if you need something just let me know. I will get it for you I just want you to rest. You are only going to get more tired the farther along you get."

"I'm fine Rick but resting for the rest of the evening does sound nice. Maybe later could you rub my neck?" She asks as she snuggles her face into his neck and nips at his soft skin there.

"How about some relaxation on the couch here and later we can take a nice long, hot bubble bath." He said low into her ear in his bedroom voice.

"Mmmm that sounds nice." She said closing her eyes and relaxing against Castle's broad chest.

Two hours Rick woke up with Kate snuggled on top of him snoring softly and smiling. He always thought she was arguably the most beautiful when she was in a restful slumber. He looked up at her and brushed one of her soft tendrils away from her serene face and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Kate." He whispered, rubbing her back to slowly wake her up.

"Mmm what Castle, I'm sleeping.." she said as she snuggled further into his neck.

"It's time for bed unless you are still up for that bath…" Castle said softly.

"Actually a hot relaxing bath sounds nice." She said sitting up to a straddling position on his lap.

"Well now that we are _all _awake I don't know how relaxing it will be…" Rick said shifting uncomfortably.

"Well hmm Mr. Castle looks like you have a condition I need to attend to…" Kate says as she feels him pressing up into her lap. She leads the way to the bathroom and turns on the water. She adds jasmine oil to the water and turns to face Rick so that she can remove his clothes.

She turns her face up to his and kisses him softly as she starts to unbutton his shirt. It falls to the floor as she runs her hands down his chest down to his pants. As she reaches the top of his jeans Rick deepens the kiss pulling her flush to him with his hands on her ass.

She gasps as she rocks her hips against his. He takes this opportunity to lift her shirt over her head and to undue the clasp of her bra and to pull it off. They both undue each other's pants, and help each other out of their underwear, she then leads them to the tub. Rick gets in first sinking down into the hot water. Kate turns off the faucet and gets in after him settling herself in his lap.

Rick reaches around and places his hands on her belly as he brushes aside her hair and kisses her on her sweet spot behind her ear. He loves it when she makes those whimpering mewling noises. He felt himself grow even harder against her back.

"Seems like someone is getting a little impatient.." Kate said as she turned back to grin at him as she took him into her hand and rubbed him back and forth.

"Kate.." He breathed as he rested his forehead on her shoulder. He started kissing her shoulder, working his way up to her neck and eventually to her lips. Kate turned around to face him as he pulled her hair back to angle her head and plunder her mouth with his talented tongue.

"Castle.. I want you.." Kate breaths as she kisses his neck. She moves so that she is angled above him, her knees on either side of his hips.

He grasps her hip as his other hand cups her. She moans as he takes her right nipple into his mouth playing with the sensitive flesh.

"Rick.. Please" she begs as he continues to work her with his lips and hand.

In one swift thrust she envelops him causing them both to take a deep breath at the connection.

"I love you." Rick breaths as he starts to move inside her.

"I love you to. Oh don't stop.." she moans as she grips onto his shoulders as she rides to bliss.

"Well has this bath been relaxing enough for you my dear?" Castle asks as he rubs her cherry scented body wash down her back .

"Mmm," Kate moans as he rubs the tense muscles in her shoulders and her hips. "Very nice. Thank you Castle."

"No problem, love." He says as he brings the wash rag around to wash her breasts. "This may be my favorite thing so far….." Castle whispers as he cups her blossoming breasts. "It shows that you are growing and getting to feed a baby. My baby." He says as he rests his hands on her belly.

She reaches up and rests her hand on his cheek as she rests her head against his shoulder and looks up at him. He is taken aback by the love and adoration that shines in her eyes as she looks into his eyes. He is just about to lock their lips together when he feels a kick in the palm of his hand. She smiles at him when he gasps and looks down at the hand that little baby castle had just kicked. They lock eyes again and his smile is so big she is afraid his face might split in two.

"Something tells me that lil castle didn't like the boat being rocked earlier." Kate said as she raised her eyebrows at Castle.

"Hey I can't help it if his mother gets me all hot and bothered all the time." Rick chuckles.

"Let's go to bed Castle." Kate says as she yawns and lays her head back on his chest.

Rick helps her out of the tub and dries her off and then himself and takes her to bed.

**Soooo pleaaaase review :)**


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